Abstract

 Introduction: One of the main effective factors of development of hypertension in people is lifestyle. The aim of this study was to compare military and civilian life style of people with hypertension.

Materials and Methods: This descriptive-comparative study on 200 patients with hypertension was conducted in Tehran.  Convenience sampling method was used to select hypertensive patients referred to the military hospitals and civilian hospitals.  Data was collected by "Hypertension Lifestyle Inventory" in four main dimensions (nutritional status 36 items, stress 13 items, smoking 9 items and physical activity 10 items). Validity of the inventory was measured by content validity and reliability by test re-test (r=0.83). The blood pressure device calibration was measured based on company manual.  For collecting data, blood pressure was measured two times and data was analyzed by SPSS/17.

Findings: Findings showed that lifestyle in the field of nutrition, physical activity, stress and smoking in the sample is not appropriate. In this study, factors such as marital status, education, nutrition and physical activity were significant with hypertension (P<0.05).

Conclusion: The results on the importance and urgency of intervention measures for change in lifestyle are emphasized. Therefore, educational programs in order to make lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking, regular exercise programs, diet modification is necessary.